Colm O'Farrell

Colm O'Farrell (18 October 1907-) was the Taoiseach of Ireland from 6 February 1950, succeeding George Fahey. He was leader of Fianna Fail from 1946. His tenure as Taoiseach saw the introduction of universal suffrage, but the debt crisis continued during his tenure.

Biography
Colm O'Farrell was born in Roscrea, County Tipperary, Ireland in 1907, and he became an active Fianna Fail campaign director during the 1930s, being elected a TD in 1943. He became a rising star in the party due to his youthful charisma and his advocacy for an end to the Emergency Powers Act 1939, which allowed for Fine Gael to manipulate public opinion. In 1946, he became Fianna Fail leader, and he oversaw grassroots campaigns across the country, increasing Fianna Fail's support until they almost entirely dominated the electorate. In the 1949 snap election, Fianna Fail won a plurality of votes, and was kept out of power only by the continuation of the Fine Gael-Sinn Fein "Comhaontas na Ceart" coalition.

In the 1950 election, Fianna Fail won a majority of seats in the Dail Eireann, and O'Farrell became Taoiseach. His administration oversaw two voting reforms; he first changed the system to "weighted universal", and then to "universal", allowing for every Irish person to vote. O'Farrell's voting reforms caused a scare in the 1952 election, in which the Irish Labor Party placed a close second. O'Farrell's lack of progress in reversing the debt crisis was a major contributing factor to his near-defeat, as was rising discontent with Irish emigration and the poor state of all classes of Irish society.